Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog and Other Stories

Classic / American English Mark Twain is one of America's most famous and best-loved writers. He wrote about every important subject of his time. Twain's stories are usually amusing but with a serious message too. You will read about people's hopes and fears, happiness and terrible sadness--and wonderful practical jokes!

Paperback, 72 pages

Published
April 7th 2008
by Pearson Education ESL
(first published 1970)

Community Reviews

There's no point in "reviewing" the works of Mark Twain. It's a comical endeavor. The best I have is my reaction to his work.

I first read Twain when I was a kid, I didn't like it at all. This book was my second attempt at Twain, I loved it.

Reading Mark Twain is like meeting the family of an old friend. Suddenly you get where your friend got their sense of humor, their clothing style, their quirks. There's a little bit of Mark Twain in every American author that has written anything notable oveThere's no point in "reviewing" the works of Mark Twain. It's a comical endeavor. The best I have is my reaction to his work.

I first read Twain when I was a kid, I didn't like it at all. This book was my second attempt at Twain, I loved it.

Reading Mark Twain is like meeting the family of an old friend. Suddenly you get where your friend got their sense of humor, their clothing style, their quirks. There's a little bit of Mark Twain in every American author that has written anything notable over the past 100 years.

He's writing is simple, brilliant, dull, hilarious, sharp, strikingly modern and annoyingly dated. I liked every story in this collection. I laughed out loud at Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven, and I cried when I read A Dog's Tale....more

So That's where the "Golden Arm" Ghost story comes from! Mark Twain explains how to tell the story to get the best reaction from your audience. This is a fun collection of some of Mark Twain's short stories. I have a copy that I found in my parent's home.

A collection of short stories by one of the most beloved American writers, Mark Twain.

"The Celebrated Jumping Frog" is a humorous story about a man who had a frog that could jump higher than any other. He made a bet with a sly man, and he went off to catch a frog for the man, the man filled the "Celebrated Jumping Frog" with shot, and the frog wouldn't move.

"The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg" is about Hadleyburg which is a town that every other town wants to be, it is clean, small, and has nevA collection of short stories by one of the most beloved American writers, Mark Twain.

"The Celebrated Jumping Frog" is a humorous story about a man who had a frog that could jump higher than any other. He made a bet with a sly man, and he went off to catch a frog for the man, the man filled the "Celebrated Jumping Frog" with shot, and the frog wouldn't move.

"The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg" is about Hadleyburg which is a town that every other town wants to be, it is clean, small, and has never been corrupted. No one ever falls into temptations here. A man that was badly treated here wanted his revenge and he does it in an imaginative way.

"A Fable" is about a bunch of animals who stumble across the mirror. The cat says it is a picture of a cat, the elephant said he only saw a big beautiful elephant, and so on, and so on. The moral, by the cat is: "You can find in a text whatever you bring, if you will stand between it and the mirror of your imagination. You may not see your ears, but they will be there."

In each one you see a new perspective because of Mark Twain's imagination.

Book Details:

Title The Celebrated Jumping Frog and Other StoriesAuthor Mark Twain Reviewed By Purplycookie...more

This is a small collection of (very) short stories - they're almost like a set of modern fables. I'd heard of the Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, but not any of the others. They are: The Story of the Bad Little Boy, Is He Living or Is He Dead?, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and A Fable.

Surprisingly, he one story that is in the title of the collection is my least favorite. It's just okay, but the others make the collection truly great. These should be required reading in high scThis is a small collection of (very) short stories - they're almost like a set of modern fables. I'd heard of the Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, but not any of the others. They are: The Story of the Bad Little Boy, Is He Living or Is He Dead?, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and A Fable.

Surprisingly, he one story that is in the title of the collection is my least favorite. It's just okay, but the others make the collection truly great. These should be required reading in high school. They hit on real-life (i.e., realistic) moral examples that only an author like Twain could get away with.

It's a very short collection (86 pp.) - easy enough to stuff in a bag to read whenever a few moments present themselves. Take it along, you wont' be sorry....more

Mark Twain is witty, timeless, occasionally dark and frequently insightful. The stories aren't all great, but they're all enjoyable to read and some of them have well-deserved reputations as classics of the form. Re-read them when your kids need to go to bed.

i smiled and laughed while reading the first three stories- they're hilarious! but the next two were a bit more of a headache, especially the last story. But only somebody with a wild and childish imagination like Twain could've thunk up these tales! I love Mark Twain- always will.The jumping frog story is hilarious! Bets and bets and bets until he gets outbetted by a trickster. Haha!The bad little boy made me smile throughout until the end and then it made me a bit broody since I think of all ti smiled and laughed while reading the first three stories- they're hilarious! but the next two were a bit more of a headache, especially the last story. But only somebody with a wild and childish imagination like Twain could've thunk up these tales! I love Mark Twain- always will.The jumping frog story is hilarious! Bets and bets and bets until he gets outbetted by a trickster. Haha!The bad little boy made me smile throughout until the end and then it made me a bit broody since I think of all those corrupt business men, politicians, and professionals. The artist story made me laugh like crazy because Millet may or may not be alive, although I don't mind much. It's quite a story. ...more

There were some stories I REALLY liked and would give 5 stars, and other stories I didn't care for at all. Probably just a generational gap...by more than a century. I did find the last 'story' included to be very interesting. It was all about how to tell a humorous story.

So far I only have read Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog but let me just say this, I am s lost on the clean humor. I think I need to read a few more of these to be able to get the overall message because the humor in this story was so completely lost on me. Oh well live and learn.

Much of Mark Twain's writings are not humorous to me. I think I have a problem with the run-on sentences. I lose track of what I'm reading. This is a good tale, though. It seems to me that it accurately portrays what life in this mining camp town must have been like in the late 1800's.

I enjoyed most of the stories, though Twain's dry whit sometimes required perseverance. My favorite shorts were "The $1,000,000 Bank Note" and "Jim Baker's Bluejay Yarn." It was interesting to learn that the story "Was it Heaven or Hell" was based on the author's personal experience.

The stories in this book were fun, and very critical of humans in their willingness to push aside others and their morality for a bit of money. Just as I would expect from Twain. We could use a bit of this brand of satire today.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also workSamuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist. He is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. He apprenticed with a printer. He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," which proved to be very popular and brought him nationwide attention. His travelogues were also well-received. Twain had found his calling.

He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.

However, he lacked financial acumen. Though he made a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he squandered it on various ventures, in particular the Paige Compositor, and was forced to declare bankruptcy. With the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers, however, he eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain worked hard to ensure that all of his creditors were paid in full, even though his bankruptcy had relieved him of the legal responsibility.

Born during a visit by Halley's Comet, he died on its return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age", and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature".